IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/jpamgt/v24y2005i2p329-350.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Declining employment among young black less-educated men: The role of incarceration and child support

Author

Listed:
  • Harry J. Holzer

    (Georgetown University)

  • Paul Offner

    (Urban Institute)

  • Elaine Sorensen

    (Urban Institute)

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the continuing decline in employment and labor force participation of nonenrolled Black men between the ages of 16 and 34 who have a high school education or less in the 1980s and 1990s. We focus on two fairly new developments: (1) the dramatic growth in the number of young Black men who have been incarcerated and (2) strengthened enforcement of child support policies. We analyze micro-level data from the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Groups (CPS-ORG), into which state-level data over time on incarceration rates and child support enforcement have been merged. Our results indicate that previous incarceration and child support enforcement can account for half or more of the decline in employment activity among Black men aged 25-34. Previous incarceration also contributes to the decline among those aged 16-24. © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management

Suggested Citation

  • Harry J. Holzer & Paul Offner & Elaine Sorensen, 2005. "Declining employment among young black less-educated men: The role of incarceration and child support," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(2), pages 329-350.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:24:y:2005:i:2:p:329-350
    DOI: 10.1002/pam.20092
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/pam.20092
    File Function: Link to full text; subscription required
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/pam.20092?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. W. Kip Viscusi, 1986. "Market Incentives for Criminal Behavior," NBER Chapters, in: The Black Youth Employment Crisis, pages 301-351, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. R. M. Hauser & M. H. Huang, "undated". "Trends in Black-White Test-Score Differentials," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1110-96, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    3. Richard B. Freeman & Harry J. Holzer, 1986. "The Black Youth Employment Crisis," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number free86-1, March.
    4. Charles L. Schultze, 2003. "The Consumer Price Index: Conceptual Issues and Practical Suggestions," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 3-22, Winter.
    5. George J. Borjas, 1986. "The Demographic Determinants of the Demand for Black Labor," NBER Chapters, in: The Black Youth Employment Crisis, pages 191-232, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Freeman, Richard B. & Holzer, Harry J. (ed.), 1986. "The Black Youth Employment Crisis," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226261645, December.
    7. Steven D. Levitt, 1996. "The Effect of Prison Population Size on Crime Rates: Evidence from Prison Overcrowding Litigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(2), pages 319-351.
    8. Kim B. Clark & Lawrence H. Summers, 1982. "The Dynamics of Youth Unemployment," NBER Chapters, in: The Youth Labor Market Problem: Its Nature, Causes, and Consequences, pages 199-234, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Freeman, Richard B. & Wise, David A. (ed.), 1982. "The Youth Labor Market Problem," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226261614, December.
    10. Rebecca M. Blank, 2002. "Evaluating Welfare Reform in the United States," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1105-1166, December.
    11. Harry J. Holzer, 1986. "Black Youth Nonemployment: Duration and Job Search," NBER Chapters, in: The Black Youth Employment Crisis, pages 23-73, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Irwin Garfinkel & Sara Mclanahan & Daniel Meyer & Judith Seltzer, 1998. "Fathers under Fire: The Revolution in Child Support Enforcement in the USA (This CASEpaper is a summary of the book by the same title and authors, published by the Russel Sage Foundation, 1998)," CASE Papers case14, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Richard B. Freeman, 1996. "Why Do So Many Young American Men Commit Crimes and What Might We Do about It?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 25-42, Winter.
    2. H. J. Holzer & R. J. LaLonde, "undated". "Job Change and Job Stability among Less-Skilled Young Workers," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1191-99, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    3. Larry D. Singell & Jane H. Lillydahl, 1989. "Some Alternative Definitions of Youth Unemployment: A Means for Improved Understanding and Policy Formulation," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(4), pages 457-472, October.
    4. Holzer, Harry J, 1987. "Informal Job Search and Black Youth Unemployment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(3), pages 446-452, June.
    5. Richard B. Freeman, 1994. "Crime and the Job Market," NBER Working Papers 4910, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Lochner, L., 1999. "Education, Work, and Crime: Theory and Evidence," RCER Working Papers 465, University of Rochester - Center for Economic Research (RCER).
    7. Richard Freeman & David G. Blanchflower, 2000. "Introduction to "Youth Employment and Joblessness in Advanced Countries"," NBER Chapters, in: Youth Employment and Joblessness in Advanced Countries, pages 1-16, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Lance Lochner & Enrico Moretti, 2004. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 155-189, March.
    9. Robert Kaestner, 1996. "The Effect of Government-Mandated Benefits on Youth Employment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(1), pages 122-142, October.
    10. Susumu Imai & Hajime Katayama & Kala Krishna, 2006. "Crime and Young Men: The Role of Arrest, Criminal Experience, and Heterogeneity," NBER Working Papers 12221, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Lance Lochner, 2004. "Education, Work, And Crime: A Human Capital Approach," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 45(3), pages 811-843, August.
    12. S. Antonio Ruiz-Quintanilla & Rita Claes, 1996. "Determinants of Underemployment of Young Adults: A Multi-Country Study," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 49(3), pages 424-438, April.
    13. Juhn, Chinhui & Kim, Dae Il, 1999. "The Effects of Rising Female Labor Supply on Male Wages," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(1), pages 23-48, January.
    14. Harry J. Holzer & Paul Offner, 2001. "Trends in Employment Outcomes of Young Black Men, 1979-2000," JCPR Working Papers 245, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
    15. Entorf Horst, 2009. "Crime and the Labour Market: Evidence from a Survey of Inmates," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(2-3), pages 254-269, April.
    16. Harry J. Holzer, 2009. "The Labor Market and Young Black Men: Updating Moynihan's Perspective," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 621(1), pages 47-69, January.
    17. Harry J. Holzer, 1994. "Black employment problems: New evidence, old questions," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(4), pages 699-722.
    18. Fajnzylber, Pablo & Lederman, Daniel & Loayza, Norman, 2002. "What causes violent crime?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(7), pages 1323-1357, July.
    19. Devah Pager, 2007. "The Use of Field Experiments for Studies of Employment Discrimination: Contributions, Critiques, and Directions for the Future," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 609(1), pages 104-133, January.
    20. Neil Rickman & Robert Witt, 2007. "The Determinants of Employee Crime in the UK," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 74(293), pages 161-175, February.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:24:y:2005:i:2:p:329-350. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/34787/home .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.